Hixkaryana /ˌhɪʃkæriˈɑːnə/[2] is one of the Cariban languages, spoken by just over 500 people on the Nhamundá River, a tributary of the Amazon RiverinBrazil. It is one of around a dozen languages that are described as having object–verb–subject word order (initially by linguist Desmond C. Derbyshire).[3]
| Hixkaryána | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Brazil |
| Region | Upper Nhamundá River, Amazonas |
Native speakers | 600 (2000)[1] |
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | hix |
| Glottolog | hixk1239 |
| ELP | Hixkaryana |
| This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. | |
Hixkaryana has the following consonant phonemes:
| Labial | Alveolar | Postalveolar orpalatal |
Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ ⟨ny⟩ | |||
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | tʃ ⟨tx⟩ | k | |
| voiced | b | d | ɟ ⟨dy⟩ | |||
| Fricative | ɸ ⟨f⟩ | s | ʃ ⟨x⟩ | h | ||
| Tap | ɾ | ɽˡ ⟨ry⟩ | ||||
| Approximant | j ⟨y⟩ | w | ||||
Hixkaryana has the following vowel phonemes:
| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | ɯ ⟨ɨ⟩, u ⟨u⟩ | |
| Close-mid | e ⟨e⟩ | |
| Open-mid | ɔ ⟨o⟩ | |
| Open | æ ⟨a⟩ |
In Hixkaryana, arguments are indexed on the verb by means of person prefixes. These prefixes form an inverse-like pattern in which the argument highest in the hierarchy 2nd > 1st > 3rd is indexed on the verb. If the object of a transitive verb outranks the subject according to this hierarchy, the appropriate O-prefix is used; otherwise, an A-prefix is used.
| A-prefixes | O-prefixes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1A | 0-/ɨ- | 1O | r(o) |
| 2A | m(ɨ)- | 2O | o(j)-/a(j)- |
| 1+2A | t(ɨ)- | 1+2O | k(ɨ)- |
| 3A | n(ɨ)-/j- | ||
Intransitive verbs take prefixes mostly similar to the transitive prefixes given above, with an active–stative. The arguments' grammatical number is indexed on the verb by means of portmanteau suffixes that combine tense, aspect, mood, and number.
In most cases, the person prefixes unambiguously determine which of the arguments is the subject and which is the object. When both the subject and the object are third person, however, the person prefix is inadequate to fully determine the identity of the arguments. In these situations, therefore, word order is crucial in determining their identity. Hixkaryana may have an object–verb–subject word order. The example below, "toto yonoye kamara", cannot be given the AVO reading "the man ate the jaguar"; the OVA reading – "the jaguar ate the man" – is the only possible one.
toto yonoye kamara
toto
person
y-
3SG-
ono
eat
-ye
-DIST.PAST.COMPL
kamara
jaguar
toto y- ono -ye kamara
person 3SG- eat -DIST.PAST.COMPL jaguar
"The jaguar ate the man."
Indirect objects, however, follow the subject:
bɨryekomo yotahahono wosɨ tɨnyo wya
bɨryekomo
boy
y-
3SG-
otaha
hit
-ho
-CAUS
-no
-IMM.PAST
wosɨ
woman
tɨnyo
her-husband
wya
by
bɨryekomo y- otaha -ho -no wosɨ tɨnyo wya
boy 3SG- hit -CAUS -IMM.PAST woman her-husband by
"The woman caused her husband to hit the boy."
Moreover, word order in non-finite embedded clauses is SOV. [1] Like most other languages with objects preceding the verb, it is postpositional.
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